About

WHERE WE CAME FROM
We didn’t start out to reinvent the recruitment industry but rather refine it and add value by taking a consultative approach to executive search. We started with the aim of focusing entirely on the customer, steering away from cold recruitment strategies so we could concentrate on our passion – connecting real people.
Situated in a rural setting surrounded by beautiful countryside, we wanted to define a strong team culture by providing the best possible working environment for our employees. Despite the close-knit team we’ve created here, our business spans far and wide, both nationally and internationally.
WHO WE ARE
Our people have always been an integral part of the ever-growing Collingwood family and we surround ourselves with experienced, dynamic professionals. Our ethos is present in everything we do, from finding you the perfect candidate to investing in our own staff. We don’t just sell our values, we practice what we preach - putting all who work here at the heart of everything we do.

As executive search specialists, we partner with a lot of internal recruitment or talent acquisition teams all over the world. From large global corporations to more medium-sized international businesses, our clients have a very wide range of internal recruitment teams.

Through its history, recruitment is by nature viewed by companies as a very transactional activity. Far too many still see it as a cost and perhaps an inconvenience that needs to be sorted as quickly as possible. Very few view recruitment as an opportunity to gain a competitive advantage in their industry. Dealing with these recruitment teams is usually a chore as they don't really add any value to the recruitment process and act as 'gatekeepers' rather than the facilitators of attracting 'top talent' that they should be.

During the last few years, we have had the pleasure to work with some global organisations who view recruitment as an absolute integral part of their business and one that it relies upon to achieve its ambitious success. Without attracting outstanding talent you are unlikely to neither build a solid foundation nor achieve a competitive advantage over your competitors.

Apart from being an integral part of the business that allows them to really understand the vision, strategy and the impact on current and future talent needs, here are 5 key traits that these strategic internal talent teams have in abundance. And you should too!

1. Tap into internal talent

You should have a measured a visible talent pool for whom you know their ambitions, limitations and development needs. It should be your first port of call when you learn about a current or future vacancy need.

2. Evaluate candidates on potential as much as skills and experience

We have been working with a global technology client who only focuses on bringing high potentials into their organisation. If they already work in their industry, then great. Otherwise, they really are not bothered. They believe experience without potential will offer nothing new to them and will present limitations to their growth going forward.

3. Personalise the candidate journey

High calibre candidates are in high demand and are not queuing up to work for you. Sorry! You need to bring your organisation to life and provide a real insight into what it is like to work there. Why should they choose you when they will have a great selection to choose from?

4. Prioritise their own skills development

Recruitment is forever changing and so talent teams need to receive investment in their development but also to ensure that they are external and learning about new ideas, innovations and technologies before they become commonplace.

5. Make use of emerging smart technologies

As above, be at least one step ahead.

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New research proves that the most successful talent acquisition (TA) teams do much more than fill vacant roles — they hold a place of central strategic importance in their organizations.
The industry study by HR consulting and research firm Bersin by Deloitte found that high-performing recruiting functions are integrated across the business areas of the organization, prioritize internal mobility, and use data to support decision-making, among other shared characteristics.
Bersin surveyed 1,220 talent and business leaders, with 43 percent of respondents employing between 5,000 and 50,000 people. All responding organizations were placed on a maturity index based on their survey responses, with companies that were found to practice basic and transactional TA processes landing at the bottom of the scale, and companies with high-impact TA functions placed at the top of the scale.